Goodwin v. Agrilite of Louisiana

643 So. 2d 249, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 2430, 1994 WL 532912
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 21, 1994
Docket26061-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 643 So. 2d 249 (Goodwin v. Agrilite of Louisiana) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goodwin v. Agrilite of Louisiana, 643 So. 2d 249, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 2430, 1994 WL 532912 (La. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

643 So.2d 249 (1994)

John GOODWIN, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
AGRILITE OF LOUISIANA, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 26061-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

September 21, 1994.

*250 Goodwin, Turnage & John by James D. Turnage, Shreveport, for appellant.

*251 Weems, Wright, Schimpf, Hayter & Carmouche by John O. Hayter, III and Kenneth P. Haines, Shreveport, for appellee.

Before MARVIN and NORRIS, JJ., and JONES, J. Pro Tem.

NORRIS, Judge.

Plaintiff, John Goodwin, appeals two separate trial court judgments dismissing defendants, John Campbell, Larry Fletcher and Emmett Averett on exceptions of no cause of action. Invoking our right to notice the failure of plaintiff to disclose a cause of action under the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, and for the reasons which follow, we affirm the judgments sustaining the exceptions as to both the action for loss of sale proceeds and for contribution of remediation costs; however, we amend the judgments to make all dismissals without prejudice, and remand the case to allow Goodwin the opportunity to amend his petition.

FACTS

The following factual history is gleaned from Goodwin's petition. John Goodwin acquired the property at issue by dation en paiement recorded in June 1992. Prior to his ownership, Producers Rice Mill, Inc., DVS Associates, Inc. and Agrilite of Louisiana, Inc. occupied the premises and operated American Agrilite, manufacturing cat litter. In August, representatives of the Department of Environmental Quality ("DEQ") contacted Goodwin regarding a complaint the department had received about an unauthorized dump on the land, and informed him that it was his responsibility to remove the offending material. Goodwin denied any knowledge of the dump site when he acquired the property, and asserted that the defendants, Producers Rice Mill, DVS Associates and Agrilite of Louisiana, had actually created it when they operated Agrilite from December 1984 through September 1989; however, he solicited Gulf States Environmental Laboratories to clean up the premises at the cost of $23,816. Defendants took no part in the clean-up process. In fact, Goodwin eventually had Agrilite of Louisiana evicted from the premises, but alleges that due to its delay in vacating the premises, he lost a prospective buyer.

On November 3, 1992, Goodwin filed a petition against Agrilite of Louisiana, Producers Rice Mill, DVS Associates d/b/a American Agrilite, Bruce Campbell, the former president of American Agrilite, and Emmett Averett, an officer of Agrilite of Louisiana, requesting contribution for their portion of clean-up costs and for loss of proceeds of sale.[1] By a subsequent amended petition, Goodwin added Larry Fletcher, another officer of Agrilite of Louisiana, as a party defendant. At issue on appeal are the claims against the three corporate officials.

The following forms the factual basis for Goodwin's action against each of them as alleged in the original and amended petitions:

4.
Subsequent to September 27, 1989, Bruce Campbell was the plant manager of the manufacturing facility located upon the above described property, and as such exercised day to day control over the employees, and was directly responsible for the continued use of the dump sight [sic] established upon the premises.
5.
Subsequent to September 27, 1989, Emmett Averitt [sic] and Larry Fletcher were officers in Agrilite of Louisiana, Inc., which was the owner of the premises directly prior to petitioner's assumption of ownership. Both Emmett Averitt [sic] and Larry Fletcher were directly involved in the manufacture of the cat litter in a supervisory capacity, and who frequently came upon the premises, were aware of the dump on the premises, and allowed it to remain in use.

On July 12, 1993, Campbell filed an exception of no cause of action contending that Goodwin failed to allege any intentional acts giving rise to personal liability against a corporate officer. On July 26, the trial court sustained the exception and dismissed Goodwin's *252 demand against Campbell with prejudice. On August 4, Goodwin filed a motion for rehearing and request for written reasons. (The trial court issued a written opinion on October 19, 1993, finding no allegations of intentional acts on the part of Campbell to sustain an action against him individually, and denied a rehearing since Goodwin, by this time, had already appealed the July judgment.) On August 23, 1993, Fletcher and Averett filed an exception of no cause of action based on the same grounds. On September 13, the trial court sustained the exception, dismissing the suit against them without prejudice. Also on this date, Goodwin devolutively appealed from the July judgment dismissing Campbell. On September 23, he lodged another devolutive appeal from the September judgment dismissing Averett and Fletcher.[2]

Goodwin urges on appeal that the trial court erred in sustaining appellees' exceptions of no cause of action. He contends that he sufficiently stated a cause of action against appellees under La.R.S. 30:2276 G. He also asserts that the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act ("LEQA") is an exception to the general rule against holding corporate officers personally liable for tortious corporate activity. He thus contends appellees are not protected by their status as corporate officers and should be responsible as private individuals for their portion of remediation costs resulting from the environmental violation.

APPLICABLE LAW

An appellate court may notice the failure to disclose a cause of action on its own motion. La.C.C.P. art. 927. The purpose of the peremptory exception of no cause of action is to determine the legal sufficiency of the petition. Barrie v. V.P. Exterminators, Inc., 625 So.2d 1007 (La.1993). No evidence may be offered at any time to support or controvert the exception. La.C.C.P. art. 931. On the face of the pleadings alone and taking all well-pleaded allegations as true, we must decide whether plaintiff is legally entitled to the relief sought. Everything on Wheels Subaru v. Subaru South, Inc., 616 So.2d 1234 (La.1993). Every reasonable interpretation must be accorded to the language of the petition in favor of maintaining its sufficiency and affording the plaintiff an opportunity to present his case. Hero Lands Co. v. Texaco Inc., 310 So.2d 93, 96 (La.1975). When the grounds of the exception may be removed by amendment of the petition, the judgment sustaining the exception shall order such amendment. La.C.C.P. art. 934; Bradshaw v. State, Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, 616 So.2d 799 (La.App. 2d Cir.), writ denied, 620 So.2d 841 (1993).

One stated purpose of the hazardous substance provision of the LEQA is to insure that the costs of remedial actions are borne by those who contributed to the discharge or disposal of a hazardous substance. La.R.S. 30:2271 B. The persons or entities subject to liability are (1) the owner, operator, or lessee of any pollution source or facility; (2) any person who has directly transported or directly contracted for the transportation of a hazardous substance or hazardous waste to a pollution source or facility; (3) any person who generated a hazardous waste which was eventually transported, stored, disposed of or discharged at a pollution source or facility; and (4) any other person who disposed of or discharged a hazardous substance at a pollution source or facility. La.R.S. 30:2273.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
643 So. 2d 249, 1994 La. App. LEXIS 2430, 1994 WL 532912, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goodwin-v-agrilite-of-louisiana-lactapp-1994.